JERUSALEM, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed security developments in Syria during a phone call on Monday.
"The leaders discussed the situation in Syria and regional developments," the Israeli Prime Minister's office said in a statement.
According to the statement, Putin made the call to congratulate Netanyahu for his birthday.
The call came as Israel has been increasingly worried by the recent withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Syria, fearing that Iran, which Israel considers its arch-foe, will establish permanent military bases in Syria.
Netanyahu and Putin have held regular phone talks and meetings in Moscow as part of the coordination between the two countries' militaries over their actions in Syria.
Both Russian and Israeli armies have coordinated their moves in Syria to avoid clashes. Russian forces have fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army, while Israel's air force has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against what it says the Iranian and Hezbollah targets.
